Michael Kelly

Michael Thomas Kelly (March 17, 1957 – April 4, 2003) was an American journalist for The New York Times, a columnist for The Washington Post and The New Yorker, and a magazine editor for The New Republic, National Journal, and The Atlantic. He came to prominence through his reporting on the 1990–1991 Gulf War, and was well known for his political profiles and commentary. He suffered professional embarrassment for his role as senior editor in the Stephen Glass scandal at The New Republic. Kelly was killed in 2003 while covering the invasion of Iraq; he was the first US journalist to die during this war. During a journalism career that spanned 20 years, Kelly received a number of professional awards for his book on the Gulf War and his articles, as well as for his magazine editing. In his honor, the Michael Kelly Award for journalism was established, as well as a scholarship at his alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. Early life and education Born in Washington, D.C. as one of four children, Kelly followed both of his parents into journalism. His mother is Marguerite (Lelong) Kelly, a columnist from New Orleans who wrote "The Family Almanac" for The Washington Post, and his father was Thomas Vincent Kelly (August 2, 1923 – June 17, 2010), a political and features reporter for The Washington Star (formerly The Washington Daily News), and later for The Washington Times. Kelly attended Gonzaga College High School, as his father had done. He graduated in 1979 from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He had worked on the college newspaper, The New Hampshire.